decayed

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As the animal decayed hundreds of millions of years ago, its body changed in ways that later made it resemble an octopus when preserved in rock.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

In “Vaccine Flag,” a vertical banner arcs gracefully across a soft gradient of L.A. haze, but the banner’s fabric is so tattered and decayed that its advertisement for vaccines is barely legible.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

Wage growth has decayed, and persistently elevated inflation is straining personal budgets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025

Methane spends a lot less time in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide; about 20 years after it's released, most of it will have decayed, while carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years.

From Salon • Sep. 17, 2024

They also discovered that radioactive elements decayed into other elements–that one day you had an atom of uranium, say, and the next you had an atom of lead.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson